The Next Stage podcast by Web Summit

2021 saw tech startups reach unicorn status in droves, but the easy money fueling billion-dollar valuations has dried up. 

In this episode of The Next Stage, Vanta CEO Christina Cacioppo and investor Jai Das explore the end of the unicorn era and what it will take for startups to succeed in the new normal.

Christina Cacioppo, co-founder and CEO of Vanta, and Jai Das, co-founder, president and partner with Sapphire Ventures, were in conversation with Frederic Lardinois, editor of TC, on Centre Stage at Collision 2023.

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It started out as a Google Sheet shared on Twitter by Gabor Cselle, asking people to add their thoughts on how to make a kinder Twitter. After going viral, the former Twitter employee decided to build an alternative.
 
Gabor and co-founder Sarah Oh launched T2 just two weeks after starting to build it, following Y Combinator’s advice to launch early. Listen to this episode for the full story.

Gabor Cselle, co-founder and CEO of T2 was in conversation with Steven Levy, editor-at-large for Wired, on Centre Stage at Collision 2023.

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What’s the next killer app? How will AI change our connected future? When – and in what key industries – will 5G and augmented reality’s promise show? Are there cybersecurity dangers the more software-defined our automobiles become? AT&T CTO Jeremy Legg, Forbes' Martine Paris and technology influencer Marques Brownlee answer these questions and more.

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Alex Collmer, the founder and CEO of analytics platform VidMob thinks that AI is a transformative force that will permanently change the way we live and operate. This, says Alex, goes for all kinds of jobs and skills including creativity.

So, should marketing professionals be scared of AI coming for their jobs? Not according to Alex who says that all of these tools for data insights cannot be fed straight into generative AI platforms like Midjourney. Human creativity and creative thinking is still very important.

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Twenty years ago Silicon Valley was at the epicentre of the global tech startup scene. This was the hunting ground for VC who tended not to look outside the area.

The golden rule at the time, said Mathias Schilling, a co-founder and managing partner with VC firm Headline, was that you wouldn’t invest in a company that was further away than one hour from your office. 

Things have changed of course. Headline has a network of four regionally focused early stage funds across the US, Europe, Brazil and Asia and also has a global venture growth fund that invests internationally.

Listen on to find out why Brazil is becoming as attractive as Silicon Valley when it comes to investment.

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Tim Draper, an investor known equally for his reality TV series as his VC skills, talks about the future of crypto. How long will the crypto winter last? Is it perhaps the beginning of the end?

Having invested in successful companies including Skype and SpaceX, and spotted the value in Bitcoin as early on as 2014, one would think the VC’s instincts are well honed.

Tim’s predictions are that Bitcoin could reach US$250,000 in value in 2023 but given the collapse of FTX and a founder that is facing criminal and civil charges, where does this leave the wider crypto world? Listen on to find out.

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Meredith Whittaker is an outspoken critic of big tech’s track record on gathering and processing user data. The president of encrypted messaging app Signal talks about what she calls its “surveillance business model” but also how much power these companies exert.

AI, says Meredith, “is not some dematerialised technology that exists in the ether. AI is the product of significantly concentrated resources that right now are in the hands of large companies”.

Naturally, the conversation strays to the hottest AI topic of 2023: ChatGPT, which Meredith calls a “bullshit engine”. Why? Listen on to find out!

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Football fans will know Pia Sundhage as a legend in the field.

The Swedish player turned coach was the third woman coach for the US women’s football team, leading them to the final of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup before going on to coach the Brazil women’s national team.

In this episode of The Next Stage, Pia talks to journalist Pedro Bassan about coaching and how it has evolved to include technology, particularly data-driven insights that can augment experience and instincts.

Pia Sundhage, head coach of the Brazil women's national team, was in conversation with Pedro Bassan, journalist for Globo TV, on SportsTrade at Web Summit Rio 2023.

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What are the most important areas in green energy right now? Brian Walsh, head of Wind Ventures, talks decarbonization, solar and wind energy, energy storage, and unlocking value pools through intelligence and technology.

Brian also predicts the emergence of a “dragon“ in climate tech - a company with a valuation of US$12 billion or more, driven by the urgency to address climate change.

For more insights into the world of green VC and startups, listen on.

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Chelsea Manning is perhaps best known as a WikiLeaks whistleblower but the data scientist and activist is now working as a consultant to privacy startup Nym.

In this wide ranging conversation Chelsea talks about everything from AI ethics and the responsibility of individual technologists to ensure the products they work on are safe for the end user, to moving away from NFTs and Bitcoin in order to “put the cryptography back in crypto”. 

Chelsea Manning, security consultant with Nym was in conversation with Leo Schwartz, reporter for Fortune on Centre Stage at Web Summit Rio 2023.

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